Joint structure for doors and sashes



March 9, 1954 A. J. KIEFER 2,671,539

JOINT STRUCTURE FOR DOORS AND SASHES Filed July 20, 1950 7 M /9 A48 Q /22/ 5 A r- INVENTOR. A, J K/efier BY 14/3 fl-lhrneq,

Patented Mar. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,671,539 .JOINTSTRUCTSUEE FOR DOORS AND SHES "lclaim. *1 My present invention consistsin ,a .new and improved welded union between the extremities of therails of'adoor'orsash'withthe edges of the stiles of such structuretowhich the railszare to be permanentlysecured.

The :object which .I have in view is the .production of a rigid weldedunion between the rails and the stiles which may be inexpensively andconveniently produced,.andhaving a welded area at the union which .issubsequently ground up and polished to'harm'onize with the finish of theadjacent areas of the elements which are-welded together.

Where the metals used infabricating the door or sash are of therelatively low melting point generally used in modern practice for suchpurposes, as, for instance, aluminum, the welding, preferably with addedmetal, of the stil and rail, frequently causes the adjacent metal toflow, leaving an unsightly sunken and marred area adjacent the weldwhich cannot be eliminated or concealed. This is especially true whenthe stile and rail are in the form of hollow die-cast manufacture, as isusually the case in modern practice in metal doors and sashes. Thisexposure to heat tends to collapse the hollow elements.

To remedy this fault I have provided a novel and much improvedstructure, involving an outwardly projecting flange or flangespreferably on the edge of the stile which, as the elements are assembledfor the welding operation, engage and interfit with slots formedpreferably in the end of the rail, with the vertical edge of the firstelement, preferably the stile, fitting snugly against the extremity ofthe rail. The said flange is stepped inwardly from the adjacent face ofthe stile, and the slot in the end of the rail is likewise stepped infront of the side face of the rail so that when the elements are fittedtogether the side faces of the stile and rail are located in the sameplane.

Preferably I provide a second flange on the vertical edge of the firstnamed element, the stile, spaced from the first named flange and alsofrom the other adjacent side face of the stile, which second flange fitsin a second slot in the end of the rail so positioned that the adjacentfaces of the stile and rail ar in the same plane.

The joint thus formed is welded at both sides, preferably with addedmetal of the same character as that of which the stile and rail arecomposed, the metal fusing with the metal of the parts to be united andflowing inwardly between the interfitting portions of th stile and rail,thus forming an integral joint between the same.

.The exterior areas of the welded union are ground .andpolished untilthesame are-reproduced in conformity .in appearance with theportions ofthe stile and rail surrounding th weld. Thus a permanent union of theparts is produced giving .hitherto impossible strength and finishedappearance.

Other objects will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, 'which'areintendedto indicate anembodiment loftheprinciplesof my present invention,

Fig. 'l is a view in'perspectiveof vthe 'space'd vertical edge of thestile'and of'th'e end portion of the bottom'rail'whichis 'tointerfitwithxth'e "stile and" to bewel'ded thereto.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the stile and rail assembled withthe flanges on the vertical edge of the stile fitting into thecorresponding slots in the end of the rail and an added metal weldaccomplished;

Fig. 3 is a like View after the welded portions of the stile and railhave been ground and polished to restore the finished surfaces of thewelded areas.

Referring to the drawings, the stile indicated at 10 and the railindicated at H are, as is now the practice in the art, hollowdie-castings, the stile having a vertical edge wall l2 and vertical sidefaces l3 and [4, while the rail is shown having the end l5 which, whenthe parts are assembled for welding, fits against the edge wall l2 ofthe stile. The rail also is provided with vertical side faces 16 and i1and at its horizontal edge is provided adjacent its side with side wallsl8 which enclose and form the top and bottom edges of the rail when thedoor is assembled. The stile and rail are of the same Width betweentheir vertical side walls so that when the parts are assembled, as shownin Fig. 2, the wall 13 of the stile and the wall N5 of the rail lie inthe same plane as do, likewise, the walls l4 and I1.

One of the two elements, preferably the stile, is provided with a flangel9 extending from its vertical edge l2, which flange is arranged to fitinto the corresponding slot 20 in the ends of the walls 18 of the railH. The flange and slot are positioned inwardly from the walls l3 and IEof the element so that when the elements are fitted together forwelding, the edges of the walls l3 and It and It and I1, respectively,mate together in the same planes.

Preferably a second flange 2| extends from the edge 12 of the stile, andthe wall 18 of the rail is provided with corresponding slots 22 in thewalls "3 to receive said second flange 2|.

The second flange 2| and the slots 22 are spaced from the firstmentioned flange l9 and are spaced inwardly from the corresponding sidewall M of the stile and side Wall I! of the rail, so that when theelements are assembled as shown in Fig. 2, the wall I 4 of the stilemates with the wall I! of the rail in the same plane.

When the parts are assembled, as shown in Fig. 2, the parts are weldedby heat together with added metal from both sides, the added metal beingillustrated at 23. The added metal flows with relative ease and theinterengaging surfaces of the parts are softened by the heat of thewelding operation as indicated at a on the drawings, thus fusingtogether and forming when cooled a permanent and strong union betweenthe parts which cannot be separated without ruining the structure.Furthermore, the welded areas, when ground and polished, are no longerdiscernible.

The flanges may be provided on the end of the rail, and the grooves,with which the flanges are interfitted, may be formed in the verticaledge of the stile, but the arrangement set forth supra is consideredpreferable.

I claim:

A welded joint between the stile and rail members of a door or windowsash comprising a stile member and a rail member each being a hollow boxmember with front and back Walls spaced by side walls, the front wallsof said stile member and said rail member being congruent with theirback walls and the corresponding front and back walls of said stilemember and rail member lying in the same corresponding parallel planes,the end of one member butting against and at right angles to the sidewall of the other member. a. pair of flanges independent of andprojecting outwardly from the side wall 01 said other member, eachflange extending for at least the full width of said one member andlying parallel with but stepped inwardly of the front and back walls forthe thickness of the corresponding front and back walls of said onemember, aligned parallel slots in the side walls of said one membersnugly receiving said parallel flanges to support the edges of the frontand back walls of said one member in abutting relation with the edges ofthe front and back walls of said other member, the adjacent edges alongthe continuous lines of contact of said abutting walls and flanges beingsecured together to produce a reinforced and interlocked joint with acontinuous surface from the stile member to the rail member.

AUGUSTINE JOHN KIEFER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

